Heavyweight Gilbert Aldana Eyeing Return to UFC

The UFC spent a good part of the 2006 calendar year attempting to bolster its heavyweight division — without much success until just recently.

One casualty of the process was Gilbert “El Peligro” Aldana (5-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who was signed to the UFC after posting an undefeated 5-0 record in the Arizona-based “Rage in the Cage” organization.

Although he may have been lacking in experience, no one could argue with his success. In those five previous fights, he scored five knockouts — all in the first round. The lengths of the bouts? Amazingly: 0:03, 1:55, 0:15, 0:30 and 1:00.

The UFC, however, wasn’t such a stroll in the park. After signing a three-fight deal with the UFC, Aldana lost to Paul Buentello at UFC 57 (second-round TKO) and to Cheick Kongo at UFC 61 (first-round TKO).

Aldana says he’s learned his lesson and won’t again make the mistake of rushing too soon back to the UFC.

“You can’t be one-dimensional,” said Aldana, a former Mesa Community College football player who now works as a sales manager with Valley Protective Services, a security group that keeps order among crowds at events like Rage in the Cage…

“I jumped into (the UFC division) too soon,” Aldana said. “I have a life, which is not to say that these other guys don’t have one, but I have a mortgage and kids and I can’t put the time in and really focus on training.”

Aldana is contracted for one more UFC division fight, but he doesn’t know when or where it will take place.

“I don’t have a long-term goal,” Aldana said. “But my short-term goal is to win a UFC fight. I’m getting to the point where I can focus more on cage fighting.”

Aldana make will his return to MMA on tonight’s Rage in the Cage event at the Fort McDowell Casino near Phoenix. But there’s no word of when he might return to the UFC.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.